Making An Effort Monday

In an effort to make more of the things I love -- good food, pretty things, and organized spaces -- I bring you Making An Effort Monday!

Efforts were made this week, my friends.  Oh yes, efforts were made.  Two new recipes AND making TONS of baby food.  I know you want to say it, so I will say it for you.  "DAAAAAANG girl!"


Okay, first recipe.  This is my "own" recipe, although it is not all that creative and for all I know it's some recipe that has a name and everyone has heard of it and thinks I'm an idiot for thinking I "made this up."  Whatever.  I wanted to do something with chicken breasts wrapped in bacon, so I decided on this.  (Dear god, I hope this isn't Chicken Cordon blue or something.  That would be embarrassing.)


INGREDIENTS:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, defrosted
Turkey bacon (uncooked)
Swiss cheese
Spicy brown mustard


DIRECTIONS:
I flattened out the chicken using the flat side of my meat tenderizer, then spread a tiny amount of the mustard on the chicken.  I layered that with a slice and a half of Swiss cheese, rolled them up, and rolled a few slices of bacon around the outside.


I plopped them in a baking dish and I think I ended up baking them for about 40 minutes at 450.  I just cooked until the juices on the chicken ran clear.


They ended up looking like this:

 I know you might be thinking, "Veronica, that bacon doesn't look very cooked." 

Don't worry, it's cooked.  That's the beauty of the turkey bacon I use -- it doesn't get overly crunchy.  I know not everyone is in favor of that, but I love it.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars  
I was a little nervous to use the mustard, which was my dad's suggestion, because of THIS fiasco, but I didn't taste it at all, and the bacon gave the chicken a delicious flavor.  It was also very juicy.  Yum.
Jeremy's rating:  5 out of 5 stars 
When asked for comment, he said, "Excellent!" and held up an "okay" sign.  Then he said, "No, wait.  Muy bueno."


On Saturday I also filled my freezer with all this lovely, colorful baby food I made.

I use the Beaba Babycook Babyfood Maker by Williams Sonoma and freeze the food in their multi-portion freezer tray, pop the frozen portions out, and store them in freezer bags (this is mostly because I only have one of the trays -- they're expensive, yo!).


Then on Sunday I tried another new recipe.


I found the recipe for Lemony Garlic Chicken Thighs in Family Circle and decide to revise it a bit and also use chicken breasts instead.  Here is my version:

Lemony Garlic Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of cayenne pepper (because I'm zany like that)
3 large handfuls of fresh spinach
8 ounces angel hair past (I used Barilla plus - multigrain plus extra protein, fiber, and Omega-3)


DIRECTIONS:
1.  Trim chicken of any excess fat, place in slow cooker and scatter garlic cloves on top.
2.  In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice and chicken broth.  Pour half (about 1/3 cup) into slow cooker.  Cover and cook for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low.
3.  Remove chicken to platter and keep warm.  Discard garlic cloves. 
4.  In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1/3 cup of lemon juice and broth mixture, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.  Whisk into slow cooker bowl with spinach and cook another 30 minutes on high.
5.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.  Stir half of sauce from slow cooker into pasta and serve remainder over chicken.


Here's how it looked:

My rating:  4 out of 5 stars
The flavor was good in the pasta, but it was a little blah in the chicken.  In fact, I would make just the pasta in a heartbeat.  I also would have used a little less black pepper.  However, I really liked it, and will probably add it to the meal rotation.
Jeremy's rating:  5 out of 5 stars
Jeremy said, "I don't like rating these because I will just give everything a 5 out of 5, you know that."  


Hmm, so maybe I won't ask Jeremy for his rating anymore?  He's inflating the star averages, and that's just not acceptable.


And that was my effort-filled weekend.  Tell me about your efforts in the comments!

St. Patrick's Day Fail

I had the distinct pleasure of working last night.  Teaching a night class.  On St. Patrick's Day. Meaning, I had to teach college students who would much rather be out drinking AND then drive home with all the people who had hit up one (or more) bars and were heading to another.


Note to the driver I encountered while trying to get home:  Driving THIRTY MILES under the speed limit does NOT make you less conspicuous to law enforcement.  In fact, I'd go as far as saying it makes you MORE conspicuous.  Especially when you are inching along and a string of more than ten cars is stuck behind you, unable to pass.  This is conspicuous.  I promise.


Anyway, on the way home from work, I stopped at Meijer to grab some Guinness for me and Jeremy and a big honking dog bone for Cleo, who just happened to be the birthday dog yesterday.

Awww!

Here's what I learned from that little expedition.  You know how these days if you use your credit or debit cards at grocery stores they collect data about you and print off coupons they think you'd like based on your previous purchases?  Well, usually they are right on.  Last time I got a coupon for baby rice cereal.  Helpful.  I will use that coupon.  Last night, on the other hand, Meijer chose to make two rather bold assumptions about me based on the fact that I was purchasing 4 beers and a dog bone late at night instead of painting the town red on one of the biggest "party days" of the year.


#1.  You are a crazy cat lady.

Okay, so I OWN a cat.  You got me there.  And you figured it out even though I have never purchased cat products at your establishment AND I bought a dog bone.


Yes, some cat people are "crazy."  And I have been described that way.  But if you think you can make me feel bad about not being out drinking on St. Patrick's Day by insinuating that I would rather be home with my cats?  Well ... you'd be somewhat right.  


But assumption #2?  Oh boy.

Burn Meijer.  Big burn.


But, I might consider trying that brand of cat litter.

Based on a True Story

Jeremy: *walking in the door from work*  Hey babe, how was your day?
Veronica:  Name ANY item in this house.
Jeremy:  ... Why?
Veronica:  Because I can GUARANTEE Josephine spit up on it today.
Jeremy:  Oh ... yikes ... I'm sorry you had a bad day ...
Veronica:  Are you slowly walking backwards?
Jeremy:  No, no, not at all!  HAHAHAHAAA!  You're so silly, silly!
Veronica:  You ARE!  Get back in here.
Jeremy:  I think I hear your phone.
Veronica:  No, it's right here *holds up silent phone*.
Jeremy:  Oh, HAHAHAHA.  It must be MY phone.
Veronica:  Noooo, your phone is in your hand and it isn't ringing.  And why are you laughing like that?
Jeremy:  *cups hand over ear; yells over his shoulder* Oh, okay.  I'll be right there!
Veronica:  Jeremy.  *sigh*  We are the only people living in this house, remember?
Jeremy:  *mumbles incoherently and runs out door*
Veronica:  You'll never get away with this!

Lots of (Very) Important Information

Just when you thought you had learned all of my weird ways when I fessed up about the button obsession (P.S.  Thanks to all the nice folks who supported me in my button-y ways), let me remind you about this:  Remember how I wrote that post in 2009 about the Kit Kat flavors in Japan?  You don't?  Okay, well I DID.  However, the other night, on a whim, I decided to zazz it up a bit, and I added THIRTY freaky flavors to the list!

Clicky-Clicky to see the pretty kit kats

Along the way, I found two cool blogs, Japanese Snack Reviews and Jen Ken's Kit Kat Blog.  These are the people in the trenches, eating all the flavors and rating them for you.  Well done.


Since I am in an updating mood, do you remember Josephine's Books?  Have you commented to add to my list?  DO IT!  Tell me about books I need for my wee one.  

Click to add to the list

Finally, since my public clearly demands it, I will continue with the Etsy Saturdays.  I think they're fun, and as long as you're not sick of seeing them, I will keep them coming.  ALSO, if you have a shop, have a friend with a shop, or have a favorite shop, shoot me a link at veronicachunkymonkey {at} gmail {dot} com.  No promises that I will get to them all, but I wouldn't mind some suggestions! 


Thanks, Internet friends!

XOXO Veronica


P.S.  I haven't gotten any buttons in the mail yet, and Ed was the only one to offer so far.  I wasn't joking.  Sooo ... chop chop.

Making An Effort Monday

In an effort to make more of the things I love -- good food, pretty things, and organized spaces -- I bring you Making An Effort Monday!

I LOVE soup.  I know, I know, sodium, but I try my hardest to lower the sodium in every soup recipe I come across so I feel less guilty about eating soup all the time.


I just tried this new soup, and I was geeked because the ingredients include KALE!!  I haven't had yummy soup with kale since I spent the summer living on Cape Cod.  Yum.


Here's the recipe (slightly modified from a Family Circle recipe -- click HERE for the original):

Pasta Fagioli

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used EVOO)
1 onion, diced (I used a half of an onion and diced on the larger size)
3 cloves garlic (I used 5)
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano (I used low-sodium version)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (I ended up having to add WAY more after I got all the ingredients in because there was NONE ... I got very angry.)
8 ounces (about 2 cups) small pasta shells (I used Barilla Plus -- with protein and Omega-3)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I make my own mix and probably added closer to 1 Tablespoon)
1 bunch fresh kale, tough stems discarded, cut into 1-inch pieces and washed (NOTE:  I thought maybe "removing the stems" meant just cutting off the bottom.  It doesn't.  Cut the stem out of the middle all the way up, essentially splitting the leaf in half.)
2 cans small white beans, drained and rinsed (I WANTED to use canellini or navy beans, but I happened to go on a day they were on sale and they were OUT, so I had to use one can of Great Northern beans and one can of Chick Peas -- while I love these beans, they were NOT the right flavor for this soup, and I think they cook much too slowly to be suitable for this soup.  If I use this recipe again, I will definitely use Navy beans, which cook the fastest and I think have the mildest flavor.)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Grated Parmesan, for serving


DIRECTIONS
1.  Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook 5 minutes.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute.
2.  Stir in tomatoes, broth, and 3 cups water.  Bring to a simmer over high heat.  Add pasta and Italian seasoning.  Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
3.  Stir in kale; cook 5 minutes more.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in beans, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.  Heat through (Like I mentioned before, just "heating through" didn't work for the beans I used.  They did not taste very cooked).
Serves 8.


Here are the Nutrition Facts for the original recipe:

And here's how it looked:

Veronica's final rating: 3.5 stars.  If it had different beans and I could figure out how to have enough broth without having to add it in at the end and lose all the flavor, then my rating would be higher.  I might mess around with it a bit.

Jeremy's final rating:

I was hoping for a new, easy, go-to Italian soup.  Meh.  It made me long for my favorite Italian soup.

BONUS RECIPE!

Tortellini Soup 

(adapted from Taste of Home Heart-Warming Soups - book I bought in the checkout line at Kroger 5 years ago)

INGREDIENTS

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cans (14.5 ounces each) low-sodium vegetable broth

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

3 large handfuls fresh spinach (or 1 10-ounce package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry)

DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan, saute the garlic in the olive oil until tender.  Stir in the broth.  Bring to boil.  Stir in tortellini; cook for 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in tomatoes and spinach; heat through.

Super easy and DELICIOUS!


Brag about your own efforts in the comments!  Happy Monday!